How To Play Poker And Win

Don't Be A Sucker At Poker - Here's How To Master The Game

So a bunch of your friends just invited you to a big poker game on Saturday. They have been playing every Saturday night for a while, and you have never been invited. Until now. You are psyched to go, but there is only one problem: you don’t know how to play. That’s okay, though: how hard could it be right? Well, not hard at all, as long as you know what you are doing; if you don’t, you are going to have to either come up with a really good reason not to go to the game, or you could just go to the game as a fish — someone who loses a lot of money because they don’t know how to play — and turn in your man card.

There is another option, though — you could learn to play poker. We at AskMen aren’t like the rest of your friends. We actually want to help.

What You Need To Play

So the first things that you are going to need are some cards, of course. Poker is always played with one deck of cards, end of story. But in games played in clubs and among the good players, two packs are often used in order to speed up the game. While one pack is being dealt out, the other is being shuffled and prepared for the next go around. The other thing you are going to need is chips. In general, 500 chips will cover any poker game up to ten players. If you need more than that, you probably don’t need to read this article.

How To Deal And Shuffle

Now it is time to play. At some point you are going to have to deal, which is obviously going to make you sweat. How you deal the cards depends on the game, so we will have more on that later, but you always deal left to right, and when it comes to dealing you are going to need to shuffle, of course. Don’t panic. You are going to do a few riffles, which is splitting the cards in half and mixing them together by placing the corners of the cards in each half against each other and letting the cards go so they mix. This is old school shuffle method, but it works. Do an occasional “cut of the cards,” meaning place them on the table, and put the lower half on top, then riffle again. There are some good videos on YouTube, if you want to practice, but the main key is, don’t be punked out, just do it. You really need a minimum of four players to have a good poker game, but 6-8 is ideal, and it should max out at no more than 10 — any more than that will kill the game.

Learn The Lingo

The lingo of poker is a bit of a different language if you don’t know it, and sometimes just knowing a little of it is worse than not knowing it at all. A good way to familiarize yourself with it is to watch some of the classic poker movies, but for now let's break down some terms you are almost certainly going to need to know.

Your “ante” is what you place in the pot at the beginning of the game; it cn be anywhere from a quarter, to a thousand bucks, depending on who you are playing with. In most crowds, it would be 1 to 5 dollars.

When you “fold,” it means you are out of the hand, that you give up. This means you lose the hand, but it also means you don’t have to put any more money in the pot.

If you “check,” it means you want to pass the action to the next player without doing anything, but you are still in the game. You can always take action the next time around if you check.

To “call” means that you match the amount that another player has put in as a bet or a raise. If no one calls, that means the game ends and the person that previously placed the bet or raise wins.

When you “raise” it just means you want to increase the pot. One does this for two reasons: when they have a really good hand, or when they are bluffing.

A “bluff” is when you really don’t have much of anything in your hand at all, but pretend that you do, hoping others will fold. Try this at your own risk — some people are excellent at it, some people are awful, and you won't know which you are until you try. If you do bluff successfully, don’t let people know; it not only could blow up your game next time you try, it is also considered bad form. This is where the whole term “poker face” comes from: you don’t want people to guess at your hand by reading your facial expressions.

“Capped betting” is what keeps the game from going on all night. It is a limit for the number of bets or raises that can go on in a certain game.

Best Poker Hands

Game on. So which hands are the best? What follows are winning poker hands, ranked from best to worst. Some of these are almost impossible to get, but the more wildcards that are used in the game, the bigger chance you can get them. As a rule of thumb, the more serious the game, the less wildcards are used. Whether it be in a straight or a full house, higher cards always win, of course. Here are the winning hands:

Royal flush: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10, all the same suit. This is the Holy Grail of card hands, so don’t expect to see it in your lifetime. The odds of getting this hand are approximately 650,000 to 1.

Straight flush: Five cards in a sequence, all in the same suit. If you get this hand, put your car keys in the pot. You’ve won.

Four of a kind: All four cards of the same rank. This is almost always a winner, unless you are playing with a lot of wild cards.

Full house: This hand has three of a kind, and two of a kind. You should feel comfortable betting to win on this one, but don't go all out.

Flush: Any five cards of the same suit, but not in a sequence. You are going to win most of time with this.

Straight: Five cards in a sequence, but not of the same suit. This is a very solid hand.

Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank. You will win most of the time with this, unless you are playing with a lot of wild cards.

Two pair: Two different pairs. Not a bad hand; the odds of getting it are 20 to 1.

Pair: Two cards of the same rank. You are lucky if you win with this one.

High Card: If no one has one of the above hands, the highest card wins. This can happen — I have seen more than one person win the pot with just having an ace or a king — but for the love of God, don’t bet much on it.

How to Play Different Types of Poker Games

Alright, so now you are ready to play some poker. There is only one problem: you have pretty much no idea whatsoever how to play. Don’t despair, because you can always follow someone else's lead, or you can ask questions. Poker is the one game where people usually don’t mind telling you what to do if you don’t know how to play. It isn’t because they are nice guys, of course; it is actually because they think of you as easy prey. A guy playing poker for money that doesn’t know how to play, is welcome at any social game. If you are playing at a casino, or at an actual poker house, this doesn’t apply.

Here are some basic rules on how to play the most popular games out there.

Texas Hold’em: Back in the day if you went to a casino, or to a poker party, true hardcores would be playing 7-card stud. That all changed in the 2000’s when Texas Hold’em became the most popular poker game around, largely because of TV coverage of the World Series of Poker, which features Hold ‘em as a main event. Two cards are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three different stages, which are known as the flop, the turn, and the river, respectively. The goal is to get the best hand from your cards and the community cards.

5-Card Draw: This game almost never happens in casinos or tournaments, but is still totally popular for casual home games. And why not? It is fun as all get out. Each player is dealt 5 cards, all face down. Then betting begins with the player to the dealer's left. After the first go around the table, the draw part starts up, when you can discard cards, and get the same number back from the deck. Even though true poker heros consider this game kind of lame, the bluffing can become unreal, as no one really has any idea at all what someone else has in their hand.

7-Card Stud: Stud poker can be played with 5 cards, or even 6, but 7-card stud is the most popular of the group, and in fact was the most popular game of all until the last 15 years or so. It still has a certain old school vibe that Hold’em doesn’t, and many poker players still play this above any other game. Each player is dealt two cards down, and one card up, then everyone bets. Then each player gets three more face up cards and one more face down card, with a bet after each card that is dealt. When all's said and done, each player selects 5 cards out of his 7 as his hand and discards the other two.

5-Card Stud: This game is basically the same as 7-card stud. Everyone throws in an ante, then each player is dealt one card down and one up. Then everyone bets. Each player get three more cards dealt straight up, with a betting round after each card. Then at the end, everyone shows, as there is still one card that no one but the owner of the card knows what it is. This is not a big game in casinos, but it’s still fun to play.

Omaha: This game is rapidly becoming one of the most popular poker games in casinos — some even claim it is second only to Texas Hold’em. The rules are very similar to Texas Hold'em except that every player gets four cards in Omaha instead of two in Hold'em, and you have to use two of the cards dealt to you to make your best poker hand.

Pineapple: This is another Hold’em spin off, except you get three cards followed by a pre-flop round of betting, instead of the two you get in Texas and the four you get in Omaha. Then you must get rid of one of your hole cards before the flop is dealt. The flop, turn, and river betting rounds then go just like Texas Hold’em. Another game is Crazy Pineapple, in which you hold on to all three cards until after the flop is dealt, then discard one. This game is cool enough, but lets face it, games called Texas and Omaha are always going to be more popular with hardcore gamblers than something called Pineapple. Going home and telling your wife you lost all your savings at Pineapple just does not have the same gravitas.

Dr. Pepper: Speaking of a game with an awful name... I mean, really? Come on. This game is for non-serious poker players, who are playing at home only. This game is basically 5-card draw, with the 2’s, 4’s and 10’s acting as wildcards. This is the kind of game you will never, ever see in a casino, but hey, with all those wild cards, maybe you will get that straight flush you have been craving.

Strip Poker: First of all, I would suggest having a few drinks. Secondly, I would suggest playing with people that you are attracted to. If you have those two things going on, you might actually have a good time. Maybe. The rules are important, of course. Quite often people play until one person is totally naked, or people just might play to go down to their underwear. Normally 5-card draw is played, and everyone that loses a hand takes off an item of clothing. Welcome to the best night of your life. Or your worst.

Online Poker: Online gambling is huge, and of course poker is a big part of that. It is now a multi-billion dollar industry, although it is only legal in certain states, and there are obviously a lot of shady websites out there ready to take your money. But hey, we already know you like to gamble or you would not have made it this far, and what gets that blood rushing more than the fact that you might get ripped off or that you are doing something illegal? The most popular online game is 5-card draw, but there are plenty of Hold’em games out there.

We Recommend

Kem Poker Cards

The best cards are all plastic, so they can’t be easily creased and marked. Because, sure, it is great if you have that ace in your hand, but not so much if everyone else knows you have it. There are many good card brands out there, but one of the best is Kem.$27.08 at Amazon.com

Davinci 500 Poker Set

Just like with cards, any chips will do, but the most durable, and the type that gives you that nice casino sound when they hit each other, are made of clay. You can buy them individually, or you can purchase a poker set that comes with a handy traveling case. One of the best travel sets is this one by Da Vinci.$49.99 at Amazon.com

Barrington Poker Table

Where should you play? Well, for the most part, any old table will do, but if you get a bit more into the scene, then it never hurts to have a handy poker table to use — every true man cave has one. If you do go that route, one can’t go wrong with the Barrington Poker Table. It is durable, portable, reasonably priced, and has some sweet padded rails to rest your arms on when the night gets long.$246.00 at Amazon.com

Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker

So maybe you read this list, played a few games, and you got taken to the cleaners. Hey man, it happens to all of us. But how do you get better? First of all, keep playing; just like everything else in this world, there is no book or course that is going to help you more than your own experience. With that said, there is a wealth of info out there on the Internet to help you improve. Some people will tell you to work the whole math angle, some will teach you how to bluff, and some will tell you that you need a sick amount of gamble, in other words, you need big balls. There is a wealth of reading material out there too. One of the best books going is Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker.

There you have it, just twenty minutes ago you were going to into that poker game blind, the epitome of a fish. Now, after reading this article, you are ready to take every single penny your best friend has to his name. Good luck at the game. Don’t forget to have fun.

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